Spinning-mule.



W; D. RUN-DLETT & H. WHITE.

SPINNING MULB. APPLIUATION PILED NV. 3'0, 1910.

9895513; Patented Apr. 11; 1911.

` 2 SHEETE-BEEBT W. D. RUNDLETT, -& H. WHITE.

SPINNING MULE. APPLIOATION PILED NOV. so, 1910.

Patented Apr. 11, 1911,

WILLIAM D. RUNDLETT AND HENRY WHITE, OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS,

ASSIGNORS TO DAVIS & FURBER MACHINE COMPANY, OF NORTH ANDOVER, MAS- SACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

SPINNINGr-MULE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1911.

Application filed November 30, 1910. Serial No. 594337.

To all 'whom 'it may concem:

Be it known that we, WVILLIAM D. RUND- LETT and HENRY 1119319, both citizens of the United States, and residents of North Andover, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Spinning-Mules, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to spinning mules, and more particularly to the control of the tension-faller after hacking ofi', our invention having for its object the production of novel and more efficent means than those now known to us for controlling the rise of the tension-faller as the inward movement of the carriage begins after hacking ofi", so that any tendency to break the yarn by sudden engagement with the t-ension-faller is completely obviated. During the outward run of the carriage the winding and tension' fallers are locked out of contact with the yarn, but when the direction of rotation of the spindles is reversed during hacking ofi? the allers are unlocked, the winding-faller descending and .the tension-faller ris ing quickly by the action of the usual weights to engage the yarns, and as some of the yarns at this time are often tighter than others they would be very apt to be broken were the tension-faller allowed to engage and put full tension upon the yarns with a more or less violent Shock. Various means have been devisecl to control the rise of the tension-faller at this time and thereby prevent yarn breakage. In one device wedges or inclines are provided to arrest the descent of one or more of the weight stands unt-il the carriage starts on its inward run, and as the hacking off unlocks the tension-faller the weights drop until the weight stand or lever rests on the adjacent wedge attached to the floor. Consequentlv the wire of the tension-faller can rise only to a point determined by the height or position of the wedge. With a chain connection to the faller-shaft each wedge can control only one set of weights, hence for complete control there must be as many wedges as there are stands of weights. The point at which the wire is checked is usually just short of putting strain on the yarn by the weights, in

tion of this head twist the carriage is moved v inward very slowly to compensate for the shortening of the yarn by the twist. Such nward movement, or easing-in, of the carriage varies in eXtent, depending upon the rapidity and duration of the added twist, consequently the position of the carriage at the moment of hacking off is. variable. Changes in twist or yarn size, or both, necessitate changes in the position of the wedges to suit such variations in the position of the carrage, and such adjustment of the wedges must be efi'ected manually and at the judgment of the spinner. The lack of uniformity in the adjustment of the several wedges, and the time required to make the change, are very objectionable features of this arrangement, as will be apparent. In yet another controlling device the wedges cooperate with levers each of which is connected by a rigid link to an arm on the tension-faller shaft, and only one of such levers is necessary on each half of the mule, because by reason of the rigid connecting link all of the weights in the vicinity are controlled thereby. This arrangement is preferable as to accuracy and time required for setting, but it also must be manually adjusted to suit the twist or easing-in distance through which the carriage moves, as in the first-mentioned device. Both of these controlling devices are well known and familiar to those skilled in the art, and it will be apparent that in each one the full strain due to the lifting weights is withheld from the yarn until the carriage has moved inward, after backing off, to the point where the arresting wedges fail to act. In both of the foregoing devices, as well as in our present invention, the rising movement of the tension-faller immediately after unlocking and during the greater part of the hacking off is controlled by various means, such for instance as shown in United States Patent No. 862201 granted to one of us August 6, 1907, but in such patent at the end of the backing off the control is completed and the tension-faller is acting to exert full tension upon the yarn, while in the older devices mentioned such control is continued as the carriage begins its inward movement. Consequently the descending winding-faller acting on the yarn, which is slack, and the tension-faller being held stationary by the action of the wedges, results in subjecting the yarn to far less of a jerk than when both fallers are simultaneously in motion in opposite directions and impinging on the yarn at the same moment with their full strain and considerable momentum at the completion of the hacking oti. Notwithstanding these advantages the objections as to time expended and lack of uniformity in adjusting are always present. In our present invention, however, we have retained the advantages above pointed out due to the use of wedges; but we have eliminated the objectionable features of these older forms of tension-faller control.

In accordance with the our invention means to arrest and control the tensiontaller at the completion ot the bac-king,` Ott is governed automatically by or through the carriage wheel, the unlocked tension-faller being arrested in its rise at a point which permits it to take up most of the slack yarn resulting from hacking oli but without exerting any strain thereupon. Thereatter as the carriage moves inward the rotation of the wheel so governs the controlling means as to permit a gradual rise of the tensionfaller to finally eXert full strain upon the yarn when the said faller is fully released, the gradual descent of the tension-faller thereafter by the pull of the yarn during the winding operation permitting the controlling means to return automatically to normal condition in readiness to act when next called upon. locked until hacking off takes place it will be obvious that in our invention the distance traveled by the carriage during easing-in is immaterial, for the upward movement of the tension-faller, when unlocked, to the point requisite to take up the slack yarn produced by hacking off sets automatically the controlling means into operative condition, and the subsequent rotation of the carriage wheel as the carriage moves inward governs the subsequent rising movement of the tensionfaller. Hence no adjustment whatever is required to compensate tor the easing-in, as will appear more clearly hereinafter.

The various novel features of our invention will be fully described in the subjoined specification and particularly pointed out in the following claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation and part section of a portion ot the carriage of a spinning mule, with the winding and tensiontallers, and the draft-rolls, with one emnasmuch as the fallers are' bodiment of our present invention shown in connection therewith, the various parts being illustrated in the positions occupied when the carriage is at the end of its inward run; Fig. 2 is a similar view but showing the fallers unlocked and the carriage about to begin its inward run after hacking off, the controlling means embodying our invention having tull control of the tension-faller; Fig. 3 is a detail View showing certain devices coperating with the winding and tension-:tallers omitted. 'rom Figs. 1 and 2 for the sake of elearness; Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the carriage wheels, and the novel tension-faller controlling means in its normal or inactive condition; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View of the wheel on the line 5--5, Fig. t, looking toward the right, but showing` the controlling means in elevation; Fig. 6 is a detail, also enlarged, of the controlling means in its active condition and governed by rotation of the carriage wheel, a part of the latter being shown, and it is supposed that said wheel has begun to rotate on the inward run of the carriage; Figs. T, S and 9 are perspective views, on a smaller scale, of different members of the controlling means, to be referred to.

Reterring to Figs. 1 and 2 the mule-carriage A, its spindles a; draft-rolls B, Fig. l; the winding-faller b, its shaft b' and wire b the tension-faller c, its shaft c' and wire c the grooved carriage wheel A' having journals A the bracket A having suitable bearings A for said journals, and the track C upon which said wheel travels, are and may be in their general features of onstruction common to spinning mules.

lVhile we have herein shown our novel controlling means governed by one of the carriage wheels, that being quite suflicient in many cases it is to be understood that whenever the size of the mule or other consider-ations make it necessary or desirable more than one of the cont-rolling means may be employed, and each will be governed by a carriage wheel. In other words the tensionfaller controlling means may be multiplied as many times as may be necessary, such duplication being within the spirit and scope of our invention, and henee only one of the controlling means need be described in detail. i

Referring to Fig. 3 the arm 6 connected with the winding-faller shaft, the st'rap b and at-tached spring b the arm e rigidly connected with the tension-faller shaft c', and the weight-carrying rod D depending from said arm, are all as in the above-mentioned Patent No. 862201, the downward pull of the weight (not shown) upon the rod D eft'ecting the rise of the tension-fallen The jointed links 6 6 the former pivoted to arm 5 and the latter having a pulley b for the usual chain ?7 and the cam D loose ioo on the winding-faller shaft b' and coperating with a roll-carrying stud ?3 are also as in said patent, said parts efiecting the locking and unlocking of the fallers and being onitted in Figs. 1 and 2 for the sake of clean' ness in illustration.

In the present embodiment of our invention the carriage wheel A' is provided on one face with an annular locking member shown as a peripheral flange 1, and upon the part 2 of the shaft which provides the journals A we mountloosely the hub 3 of a pawl governor, herein shown as a peripherally grooved segment 4 and illustrated separately in Fig. 7, the segment having a slot 5 therein concentric with its aXis. One end of a flexible connector, preferably a chain 6, is attached at 7 to the segment, the connector being led around the grooved face of the segment and thence up to an arm 8 fixedly attached to the tension-falle'r shaft c', the arm being curved to clear the winding-faller shaft b', as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When the fallers are locked the arm 8 is swung down, as in Fg. 1, slackening the connector G so t-hat the segment 4 will by gravity swing down into normal or inactive position below the wheel journals, as in Figs. 1, 4 and 5.

Between the segment and the hub portion a of the carriage wheel the hub 9 of a swinging arm 10 constituting a pawl-carrier is loosely mounted on the part 2 of the wheel shaft,

the hub 9 having a segmental web-like eX- tension 11 terminatng in laterally eXtended stop lugs 12, 13 which are long enough to engage the top and bottom, respectively of the adjacent part of the bracket A when said pawl-carrier is swung in one or the other' direction. The pawl-oarrier 10 is thus mounted co-axally with the carriage wheel and the segment and can swing adjacent the latter, the outer end of the pawl-carrier being enlarged to form a hollow boss 14 within and quite near the annular wheel flange 1, the inner end of the boss being recessed at 15.

A locking pawl 16, shown separately in Fig. 9, has a lateral pivot-stud 17 which enters loosely the hollow boss 14, the rounded base of the pawl fitting in the recess 15 and against the adjacent end of the boss, while the toe of said pawl has a wide face 18 to at times engage frictionally the flange 1 and lock the pawl and pawl-carrier to the carriage wheel. Inasmuch as the pawl is at all times between the inner end of the boss 14 and the adjacent face of the wheel rim A* said pawl is held in proper engagement with the pawl-carrier. A tail 19 extends from the pawl inward toward the aXis of the wheel and at its free end has a lateral lug 20 which enters loosely the curved slot 5 of the segment 4, and said lug is always above the pawl-carrier, the weight of the lug and tail being great enough to overbalance the pawl,

when free to act, and to rock the pawl on the pivot 17 far enough to disengage the face 1'8 from the wheel flange 1. This position of the pawl is shown in Fg. 1 and more clearly in Fig. 4, the fallers at such time being locked, so that the segment 4 hangs down under the wheel axis as far as the connector 6 permits, the lower end of the slot 5 being some distance away from the lug 20, while the pawl-car-rier 10 is positioned by engagement OI" the stop 13 with the under side of the bracket A From the foregoing it will be seen that the pawl is movable bodily with and is supportecl by the pawl-carrier while it is also movable relatively to the carrier into and out of locking engagement with the carriage wheel.

Starting with the carriage at the inner end of its run, Fig. 1, with the fallers locked and the controlling means for the tension-faller in inactive condition, shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, the carriage is moved outward and the yarn is spun or twisted as usual. During such outward run the part 2 of the wheel shaft turns freely in the hubs of the segment and pawl-carrier of the controlling means. At the outer end of the run of the carriage head twist is put into the yarn, and easing-in of the carriage is efi'ected, but with no change in the fallers or the controlling means. Backing off now takes place, the fallers being unlocked and moving in opposite directions to the position shown in Fig. 2, the usual weights acting in well known manner to raise the tension-falle'. As the latter rises the arm 8 is swung upward and the draft on the connector 6 swings the segment 4 upward until the lower end of its slot 5 engages the tail lug 20 and turns the pawl 16 on its pivot 17 to bring the pawl face 18 into looking engagement with the wheel flange 1. At the instant this locking engagement is efi'ected the pawl, pawl-carrier, and segment 4 are positively locked to the carriage wheel, and can only move as a unit when the latter revolves. When locking is etected the rise of the tension-faller 0 is arrested with its wire c in engagement with the yarn Y, Fg. 2, at such an elevation that the most of the slack yarn produced by hacking ofi' is taken up, but no strain is exerted upon the yarn. This is indicated by the slightly curved full line Y in Fig. 2, and the rise of the tension-faller to such point is permitted by the lost-motion between the tail lug 17 and the lower end of the slot- 5 of the segment. As soon as such lost-motion is taken up by the rise of the tension-taller, acting through the connector 6, plus the slight angular movement of pawl 16 into locking position, the controlling means is locked to the carriage wheel and the rise of the tension-faller is positively arrested at the desired point. It will be remembered llO that during hacking ofl the carriage is positively held from any movement, hy usual mechanism forming no part of this invention, consequently no further rise of the tension-faller can take place until the carriage wheel A' revolves, and the wheel cannot revolve until the carriage .is released and begins to move inward after hacking ofi?. When, therefore, the inward run of the carriage begins the wheel A is revolved in the direction of the arrow 100, Figs. 2 and 6, and the several parts locked to the wheel turn with .it as a unit, and the segmental member 4 as it rises slowly gives ofi the connector 6 gradually and the tension-faller is therehy permitted to rise at a slow rate of speed to gradually take up the slack yarn and finally eXert full tension thereupon. The yarn now assumes substantially a straight line between the draft-rolls and the tension-faller wire' c as indicated by the broken line Y', Fig. 2, the inward movenent of the carriage having brought the parts movable therewith to the dotted line position. Thus no strain has been exerted upon the yarn by the tension faller until after the carriage has moved inward subsequent to hacking off, and there has been such a slow and gradual application of the strain up to the desired maximum that the possibility of yarn breakage due to the tension-faller is substantially eliminated. After the full strain due to the tension-faller has been applied to the yarn the winding operation acts through the yarn to depress the tension-faller and therehy the arm 8 is swung downward to slacken the connector 6, thus relieving the strain of the pawl governor or segment t upon the tail lug 20 and through the latter reducing the grip or looking pressure of the pawl l6 on the wheel flange l, therehy unlocking the carriage wheel and the parts previously locked together. Further movement of said tension-faller as it is drawn down by the yarn allows the pawl-carrier 10 to gradually return by gravity to the limit of its downward movement, governed by engagement of the stop 13 with the wheel bracket A as in Figs. 1, 4: and 5, while the segment 4 returns to its normal position. During such return movement the pawl 16 is in light contact with the locking fiange 1, due to the action of gravity on the parts while they are held in suspension by the connector 6, but the pressure of the pawl against the fiange is then insufficient to prevent relative sliding movement of one over the other so that while the wheel continues to rotate as the carriage noves in the pawl will gradually slip back to normal position. The coperation of the connector with the segmental face of the pawl governor provides for the necessary length of said connector available for the proper rise of the tension-faller before looking' of the wheel is eifected, for when the the yarn, said means including a fallers are locked together the slackened connector permits said pawl governor to move always to a definite position, with the acting end of the slot 5 at a fixed distance away from the tail lug 20. Thus the lostnotion to be taken up by the connector before the pawl looks and the tension-faller is arrested in its rise is always the same, and the tension-faller is arrested at the predetermined point.

The stop lug 12 of the pawl-carrier is a safety device and in practice is rarely called into action, its function being to prevent any angular movement of said pawl-carrier far enough to carry it above and beyond the journal A of the carriage wheel.

From the foregoing description it will now he apparent that in our controlling means for the tension-faller all of the desirable features of the older devices referred to have been retained while the objectionable features have been eliminated. In our invention the controlling means is only broughtinto action by the hacking off, hence it makes no difference whatever whether the carriage has moved in an inch or a foot prior to the hacking oli', and consequently the setting is automatic for all carriage positions. To provide for an automatic control where such control is most needed it will he ohvious that such control, if by power, must be governed by some member or part of the general machine which is conveniently located and which can move or transmit motion at the proper time. In the present case the only parts or members in sufficient motion to govern the controlling means, and which are stopped during the hacking off and started during the run in, are the carriage wheels, hence our controlling means for the tension-faller is governed hy a carriage wheel.

*We have disclosed herein one simple and practical embodiment of our invention, which fills all the requirements in actual practice, but various changes or modifications in details of Construction and arrangement may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention as set forth in the claims hereto annexed. i

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a mule, in comhination, a carriage, a wheel therefor rotated by movement of the carriage, a tension-faller, and means to control the rise thereof and its cooperation with pawl governor operatively connected with the tension-faller, and a pawl moved by said governor into looking engagement with the carriage wheel when the tension-faller has risen to a predetermined point, whereby suhsequent rise of said faller to exert tension upon the yarn is governed by rotative movement of the wheel when the carriage moves inward.

2. In a mule, windng and tension-fallers, a carriage, a wheel therefor rotated by movement of the carriage, and an annular looking member rotatable With and ooncentric to said wheel, combined with a pawl-carrier fulcrumed co-axial with the wheel, a pawl to coperate with said looking member and cause the pawl and pawl-carrier to move bodily with the wheel, and connect-ing means between the tension-faller and the pawl, to move the latter into looking coperation with said annular looking member by or through a predetermined rise of the tension-faller, whereby said tension-faller is a-rrested in its rise and held from further rise until the wheel is rotated by inward movement of the carriage.

3. In a mule, in combinaton, a carriage, a rotat-able governing member connected therewith and rotated only by the movement of the carriage, a tension-fallen controlling means between said rotatable member and the faller and permanently connected with the latter, said means including a device rendered operative by initial rise of the tension-faller to lock together said means and the rotatable member, to arrest rise of the faller until inward movement of the carriage rotates said governing member and thereby pernits an additional and gradual rise of the tension-fallen 4. In a mule, in combination, a carriage, a rotatable governing member connected therewith and rotated only by the movement of the carriage, a tension-faller, a Connector interposed between said tension-faller and the governing member and having a permanent connection with the former, and a normally inoperative device to positively connect said governing member and the connector when the lat-ter is moved by the initial rise of the tension-faller, whereby the rise of the latter is arrested while the carriage is at rest, subsequent inward movement of the carriage rotating the governing member to permit an additional but controlled rise of the tension-faller while the Connector and governor are positively connected.

5. The combination with a mule-carriage, its wheel rotated by movement of the carriage, an annular looking member mounted on the wheel, and winding and tensionfallers, of a pawl-carrier and a pawl governor, fulcrumed co-axially with the wheel, a pawl movable by said governor into looking engagement with the annular member, to thereby lock the pawl-carrier and governor from movement relatively to the wheel, and a flexible connector between the governor and the tension-fallen initial rise of the latter acting through the Connector and governor to cause looking engagement of the pawl and the annular member while the carriage is at rest, to thereby stop the rise of the tension-faller at a predetermined point, subsequent rotation of the carriage wheel and annular looking member letting off the Connector to permit a further but controlled and gradual rise of the tensionfaller.

6. In a mule, in combination,acarriage,a wheel therefor rotated by movement of the carriage, a tension-faller, and normally inactive means rendered active by the initial rise of the tension-faller to control the same thereafter in its coperation with the yarn, said means when active being governed as to its operation by or through the carriage wheel.

7. In a mule, in combination, a carriage and its wheel rotated by movement of the carriage, winding and tension-fallers, and means governed by rotation of said wheel after hacking ofi to control the rise of the tension-:taller and cause the same to eXert tension upon the yarn gradually.

8. In a mule, in combnation,a carrage, a member thereon rotated only by movement of the carriage, a tenson-faller, and a device co-acting with said rotatable member to temporarily arrest the tension-faller when passing into contact with the yarn at the beginning of the winding movement of the mule.

9. The combination with a mule-carriage, an annular member rotated only by movement of the carriage, and a tension-fallen of normally inactive means between said member and the tension-faller to control the rise and coperation of the latter with the yarn, said means including a device moved into looking engagement with said annular member by or through initial rise of the tension-faller when the carriage is at rest, to stop the said faller before it has exerted tension on the yarn, subsequent rotation of the annular member by movement of the carriage acting through the means locked thereto to permit a gradual and positively controlled rise of the tension-faller to eXert tension upon the yarn.

10. In a mule, in combination, winding and tension-fallers, a carriage, a wheel therefor rotatable by movement of the carriage and having an annular looking flange, a pawl-carrier and a pawl governor, fulorumed co-axially with said wheel, a pawl on the carrier, movable with it and also relatively thereto into engagement with the locking flange, to thereby lock together said pawl-carrier and the wheel, and a connection between the tension-faller and pawl governor, initial rise of the tension-faller acting through said connection and the governor to move the pawl into looking position while the carriage is at rest, to thereby arrest the rise of the said faller until movement of the carriage rotates the wheel and effects movement therewith of the pawl-carrier, pawl, and governor to let off the connection and permit further gradual rise of the tension-faller.

11. In a mule, in combination, winding and tension-fallers, a carriage, a wheel therefor rotatable by movement of the carriage and having an annular looking flange, a pawl-carrier fulcrumed co-axially with the wheel a pawl on said carrier, movable into engagement with the annular fiange to lock together the wheel and pawl-carrer, and means between the tension-faller and the pawl to move the latter into looking position by or through rise of the tension-faller to a predetermined point when the' carriage is at rest, such looking engagement of the pawl and flange arresting the rise of the tensionfaller until subsequent movement of the carriage 'rotates the wheel and permits a further gradual rise of the tension-fallen 12. In a mule, in combination, a carriage, a member thereon rotated only by movement of the carriage, winding and tensionfallers, and normally inactive means connected with the tension-faller and operatively connected with said rotatable member by or through rise of the tension-faller when the carrage is at rest', to arrest the rise of such faller before strain is eXerted upon the yarn, inward movement of the carriage after hacking ofi' rotating said rota- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents table member to act through said means and permit a further and positvely controlled rise of the tension-faller to eXert tension upon the yarn.

13. The combination with a mule-carriage, a governing member rotated only by movement of said carriage, and winding and tension-fallers, of means connected with and to control the rise of the tension-faller, including a member brought automatically into operative engagement with said governing member by a predetermined rise of the tension-faller when the oarriage is at rest, to arrest such rise before tension is eXertecl upon the yarn, rotation of the governing member by inward movement of the carriage acting through said controlling means to permit a further and positvely controlled rise of the tension-faller to subject the yarn to tension, the member of the controlling means and said governing means being disengaged automatically by or through the descent of the tension-faller when it is depressed by the yarn, and means to stop such member in normal position after its disengagement from the governing means. In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VVILLIAM D. RUNDLETT. HENRY WHITE. VVitnesses:

SAMUEL F. RooKwELL, FRANKLIN W. GESING.

Washington, D. 0. 

